


The After-Dinner Mystery

by Daughter of Vayu (aquaregia)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Case Fic, Detective AU, Detective!Yuuri, Kind of fusion fic, M/M, Police!Otabek, Police!Yuri, Writer!Viktor, i'm not sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 14:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10901577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaregia/pseuds/Daughter%20of%20Vayu
Summary: Police Detective Otabek Altin and his partner, Yuri Plisetsky stumbled across a strange crime scene. In the end, they have to consult to Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov to find the culprit and brought them to justice!A detective AU I want to write even though I'm shitty at this kind of things!





	The After-Dinner Mystery

**Author's Note:**

> The title was taken from a Japanese novel "Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de" or "The After-Dinner Mysteries" by Higashigawa Tokuya that had been adapted into dorama. 
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! The case was not original, it was taken from "Tantei Gakuen Q" by Amagi Seimaru (because I'm too shitty at creating my own original case. Maybe someday...), and the characters belongs to their owners (except for the OC... they're mine).
> 
> If you think I missed things, or if I wrote the case wrong, feel free to tell me, I'll get it fixed! This story isn't beta-read, so excuse my grammar~
> 
> Tell me what do you think!

 Yuri Plisetsky was new to the police department. He just got transferred to this city a few weeks ago and already plunged into several cases with his new partner, a really quiet guy that told him he had the eyes of a soldier (whatever that means). So far, he didn’t find anything particularly annoying, sure he growled a little (?) at another detective named Phichit Chulanont, and threw his phone really, really hard at annoying dick of a reporter known as J.J. But so far, his week was pretty much uneventful until he and Otabek Altin, his partner, stumbled across a weird crime scene.

Located in a cottage outside the city, he and Otabek had to drive a really long way to reach the place. They almost missed the dirt road, but in the end, they arrived at the cottage, already filled with police officers and CSI team.

“The victim is Charles Reese, an infamous food critic from a very famous gourmet magazine. He was found dead this morning by the caretaker who came to check on him and delivered food stuff every Monday,” Otabek explained as they entered the police line and showed their ID to the uniformed officer on the perimeter. “The body was found in a very strange crime scene.”

Once they opened the front door, they quickly came face to face with an eerie scene. The victim was sitting on chair, facing the dining table filled with luxurious restaurant like full course feast laid out for him, untouched. A napkin was placed neatly around his neck, and he was holding a fork and knife as if he was ready to eat.

“Poison?” Yuri asked carefully since the victim looked like ready to eat.

“No. Blunt force trauma to the head,” Otabek said. “As you can see, the victim is already dead for four to five days, but the foods in front of him don’t seem to be that rotten.”

“You mean the killer came again to cook this?” Yuri raised an eyebrow.

“Possibly… But for what reason?” Otabek mumbled.

Yuri shrugged as he continued to inspect the body to find any other clues. They talked to the caretaker once again since he was the one who found the body. It took some time until they managed to narrow down the suspect list to three people. All of them hold grudges on the victim, and all of them came to the cottage to visit him about the victim’s work.

The first suspect was the gourmet magazine’s editor, a boisterous man with tall stature named Francis Leroy.

“I came on the 9th, asking about the progress of an article he was working on,” Leroy said. “We need the articles quickly, but Mr. Reese had been avoiding the deadline. The door wasn’t locked, so I knocked on it a few times, but there was no answer. I thought he was working since I could smell coffee, so I just left because he always hated being interrupted when working,” Leroy explained.

Yuri carefully took notes on his notepad while Otabek continued his interrogation.

“What about the other two suspects? You’re working for the same company, right?”

“Ah, yes. Both me and John are from the editorial department. He said he came on the 11th morning, saying Mr. Reese was still sleeping since he could hear him snoring. And Alex is Mr. Reese’s assistant and photographer, he came on 10th at night, but Mr. Reese seemed to be out for a walk or something. He got mad when he came back to the office,” Leroy finished his explanation.

The next suspect that came in was Alex Petrov, Charles Reese’s assistant and photographer.

“Yes, I came on 10th at night. No matter how many times I rang the doorbell, no one answering it! So I got tired waiting, I just came back to the office. He was probably out walking or something,” Alex Petrov said and shrugged.

“Mr. Leroy said you got mad when came back?” Otabek asked.

“Mad? Me? No, that’s not it!” Petrov shook his head. Otabek just hummed.

“Do you know anything about two other suspects?” the police detective asked.

“Hmmm… Well, I know Francis came the day before it started pouring, on 9th in the afternoon, I think? I don’t know about John since I didn’t see him around, but he came in the morning after the heavy storm. It caused quite a ruckus apparently since the breakers tripped,” Petrov said.

“The breakers tripped?”

“Yeah. Just before dinner time, I think…” Petrov said.

The last person they called was John Anderson, Leroy’s friend from the editorial department who was also working with Charles Reese on a different project.

“Yeah. I came in the morning of the 11th. I wanted to ask him about the project we were working on, but Mr. Reese was still sleeping and he was snoring rather loudly. He always got angry if someone disturbed his sleep, so I just left,” Anderson said.

“Was his door locked?” Otabek asked.

“Hmmm… I don’t think so? I’m not sure.”

“Do you know anything about other suspects?”

“I know that Francis went to meet him on the 9th… maybe? I don’t quite remember. But I do know Alex came back from somewhere on the 10th forenoon,” Anderson said.

Yuri and Otabek left the suspects for now. They already got their statement. All three of the suspects got motive to kill Charles Reese. Judging from the coronary report, it seemed like the victim was killed during a fight with the killer, in which the victim was given a finishing blow to the head using some blunt weapon.

“This case got confusing…” Yuri growled into his coffee as they stopped in a coffee shop to get away from the shitty one in the station. “All of them had a chance of killing the guy! They’re also in shape to fight off the victim.”

“And why the victim’s position was arranged as if he was ready to eat the full course meal in front of him?” Otabek frowned.

“Appetizer, cream soup, bread pudding, pan-seared halibut, fillet mignon… That guy was ready for a feast!” Yuri sighed; he never even ate that much meal in one sitting. “Do you think it’s some kind of message from the killer?”

“I’m not sure,” Otabek said slowly. “I think we should go for a consult.”

“Consult? You mean… like asking for help from some… private detective or something?” Yuri raised an eyebrow in distaste. He hated those amateur wannabes, pretending to be detectives to solve some love affairs or cheating husbands’ cases… or finding missing animals. There was more about being a detective than finding missing dogs or collecting proofs of cheating spouses!

“I’m not sure what to call _him_ actually,” Otabek said. “But I think we would really need _his_ help.”

Yuri scoffed. As if some guy pretending to be a detective could help them right now! But Otabek seemed determined, and he was the senior partner, so Yuri just went along with him.

 

* * *

 

 

Otabek and Yuri drove to a quiet suburb just outside the city, near the beach. They stopped in front of a large seaside house with white picket fence that reminded Yuri a lot of those dream houses on TV, with green lush grass on the front yard and flower bushes neatly trimmed. Two large trees were growing on the side of the house. What made it more clichéd were two poodles sleeping on the front porch, one was a standard size poodle, and the other was small toy poodle. Both looked so comfortable.

The poodles bark excitedly when they saw Otabek and Yuri stepped out of the car for some reason. Yuri was confused, but Otabek didn’t seem to mind the poodle as he made his way to the front door and rang the doorbell. They waited until a man opened the door with a wide smile on his face. He was tall and well built, with a very handsome face that made him looked a lot like a model (not that Yuri would say it out loud). His hair was in this weird silvery platinum color, short, with soft bangs fell stylishly over his left eyes. His clothes was casual, but Yuri was pretty sure he saw the same clothes on one of those high end fashion magazines.

“Oh, Otabek! Are you here to see Yuuri?” he asked, his voice was lightly accented.

Yuri’s frown got deeper. He was clearly stood beside Otabek, and how the heck this stranger knew his name anyway?!

“Yes, Viktor. Is he home?” Otabek asked politely.

Yuri looked at the man—Viktor, apparently—in confusion.

“He is! Yuuri is just preparing dinner as we speak,” Viktor nodded and smiled. “And who’s this?” Viktor turned his gaze at Yuri.

“He’s my new partner, Yuri Plisetsky. He just got transferred a few weeks ago,” Otabek said.

“Oh! Yurio! Phichit came sometimes ago and he told us about this new guy who just got transferred!” Viktor smiled. “Come in, come in!” he ushered them in.

Yuri baffled at how the stranger knew his name, and apparently his nickname to in the department. Blame Phichit for it, since he said couldn’t call him ‘Yuri’ and opted to call him ‘Yurio’ instead. It pissed Yuri off, and now, this man also knew it because it seemed like Phichit had told everyone he met that nickname.

“Please, sit down! I’ll get Yuuri for you,” Viktor said as he _bounced_ to the kitchen.

Yuri threw a glare at Otabek.

“What the hell, Beka?!” he hissed angrily. “Where the heck are we?”

“We’re in Katsuki-Nikiforov House for a consult. That man you just met is Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov, husband of Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov who would help us with this case.”

“What the hell...! You mean that amateur detective has the same name as me?!” Yuri growled in distaste.

“His name is Yuuri, with two ‘u’s. It’s Japanese,” Otabek said calmly. “He knew almost everyone in the force since we often came to him for consult when we found a difficult case.”

Yuri scoffed. Was the police department in this place was that incompetent they had to resort to consulting to _amateur_? It was just _sad_ , seriously.

It didn’t take long until another man came out. This one was shorter, with dark hair and amber eyes behind a pair of dorky glasses with thick blue half-frame. He wore a loose sweater and a pair of sweatpants that was too baggy for him, making him looked adorable and fluffy (not that Yuri would admit it out loud). Yuri guessed this must be the Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov.

“Hello, Otabek. Vitya said you’re looking for me?” this man asked his voice soft and warm. Very comforting.

“Yes, it’s about a case,” Otabek said, handing him a case file.

Yuri frowned when Otabek simply handed it to this wannabe detective who just took a seat in front of them and started looking at the photograph of the victim in front of the full gourmet course.

“Viktor said you’re Otabek’s new partner. Yurio, right?” he asked after he finished looking at the picture and let his gaze fell on Yuri.

“That’s not my name, pig,” Yurio growled angrily.

“It isn’t…?” the man blinked in confusion.

“It’s Yuri Plisetsky,” Yuri huffed.

“Oh, I see. That’s why Phichit called you ‘Yurio’,” the man simply smiled. “What should I call you then?”

“Plisetsky,” he said. It wasn’t like they were friends or anything.

“Okay then. You can call me Yuuri or Katsuki since Katsuki-Nikiforov is a mouthful.”

Yuri just huffed. “Enough idle chat. Otabek said you can ‘help’ us with this case, not that we need a help from an amateur like you,” Yuri said, looking so skeptical at Katsuki.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Katsuki said. “Please, tell me about this case,” he said.

Otabek opened his notepad and started to describe the case to Katsuki who was listening to him attentively, without cutting in. After Otabek finished with his explanation, Katsuki asked him some questions about the suspects’ statements. Yuri had written them down, so he still remembered them. He watched as Katsuki hummed quietly.

“That’s all the fact,” Otabek ended his explanation.”Thank you very much, Otabek.”

“So? Who’s the culprit?” Yuri asked sharply, as if this wannabe detective the answer. If the police got confused with this, he doubted some guy could give them answer. They should’ve just gone instead of wasting time here.

Katsuki smiled as he placed the photo into the folder.

“Well, Viktor is done with the dinner now. Let’s go eat first,” Katsuki said casually and placed the folder on the coffee table.

“What the hell?! We don’t have time for this!” Yuri was pissed at how casual Katsuki was acing after Otabek explained the case to him.

“It’s the rule in this house, Plisetsky. The crime-solving must wait until after-dinner. I don’t want to let the delicious food go to waste,” Katsuki said as he led them into the dining room where Viktor already set up the table with four steaming bowls of food Yuri never saw before. “Thanks for taking over dinner for me, Vitya,” Katsuki said as he leaned up to kiss his husband’s lips gently. It was so casual and domestic, Yuri felt like gagging at the sweetness.

Viktor looked so happy; he even pulled out a chair for his husband. Otabek didn’t say anything, he seemed like he already got used to the situation. Yuri simply sat down on the dining table and looked at the food in front of him. He swore it smelled heavenly and mouth-watering.

“Please, dig in,” Katsuki said.

They ate, and Yuri almost let out a moan at the burst of flavor in his mouth. Never before he ate something as delicious as this. He swore normal food would taste like ashes in his mouth after this. Viktor smiled brightly at his guests’ reaction and looked so proud when his husband praised him.

“It’s called _katsudon_! It’s my Yuuri’s favorite food, and he taught me how to make it. Yuuri can make it better than me though…” Viktor said.

Katsuki reached out his hand to touch his husband and squeezed it gently. “It tastes wonderful, Vitya. You’re such a great cook.”

Viktor beamed his stupid heart-shaped smile, it was sickeningly sweet, Yuri wondered if he would walk out of this place with cavity.

The dinner went smoothly. None of them talked about the case, as Yuri tried to bring it up, but Katsuki steered the conversation away since apparently murder case was not a good thing to discuss on the dining table. Instead they were talking about mundane things like the people in the precinct and such. Yuri knew now that Viktor was a mystery novelist under the name ‘Nike Winnerson’ who wrote several famous mystery novels he was dubbed as ‘Modern-Day Christie’(if it wasn’t for his pride, Yuri would jump out of his seat and asked for autograph right there). Katsuki on the other hand was a devoted househusband who sometimes taught in dance class in nearby studio once a week.

Once they finished dinner, Viktor went to get some champagne for them, which Yuri and Otabek declined since both of them were still on duty. Katsuki got up to get glasses and the photograph of the crime scene before he joined everyone back on the dining table.

Otabek and Yuri waited with two glasses of water in front of them.

“Okay then. Let’s get to business since Detective Plisetsky looked on the edge during the entire dinner,” Katsuki said gently. He put the photograph on the table so all of them could see it. The victim was holding for and knife white the entire table of full course meal was laid out uneaten in front of him. “Now, did you see something unusual in this picture?”

Yuri frowned. Everything was unusual for him. The position of the victim, the whole full course meal… Everything was unusual.

It wasn’t Otabek nor Yuri who answered the question, but Viktor who was also studying the photo.

“ _There’s no salad_ ,” Viktor said.

“Exactly. You almost have everything here for a full course meal. Appetizer, soup, fish, main dish, and dessert, but no salad,” Katsuki said.

“So?” Yuri raised an eyebrow.

“So, the lack of salad and the statements from the suspects pointed us towards the killer,” Katsuki said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Yuri still looked confused, so Katsuki continued his explanation.

“The culprit who killed Mr. Charles Reese is Mr. John Anderson who went to visit the victim on the 11th,” Katsuki said as he sipped his champagne.

“What?! How can you come to that conclusion?” Yuri asked the Japanese man.

“His testimony. He said he came on the 11th morning, saying he could hear the victim snoring,” Katsuki said. “I believe at that time, the victim was already been killed by the culprit.”

“How…?”

“If you think about the strange crime scene, you would come to the same conclusion. The culprit went back to the crime scene the night before the body was discovered because he was worried about the state of the crime scene,” Katsuki said. “It was because unexpected situation arise.”

“Unexpected situation?”

“As Mr. Petrov mentioned in his testimony, the _breakers tripped_. Mr. Anderson came to visit the victim on the 10 th’s night without being seen. During that visit, he had a dispute with the victim which made him ended up killing Mr. Reese. After that, just like Mr. Petrov and the others said, the breakers tripped because of the thunderbolt during heavy storm that cause a blackout, including in the cottage as well. If the breakers tripped, obviously the fridge in the cottage would not have power and it would make the food stuff in it go off.”

Slowly it started to click in Yuri’s mind. Katsuki continued his explanation.

“If the food were to be left rotten in the fridge, it would indicate that the victim was already dead before the black out. If he were alive, he would reset the breaker. So the culprit panicked because he already told his colleagues that ‘ _he visited Mr. Reese on the morning of 11 th but he was still sleeping and snoring_’. Now he was left to deal with the rotten food in some way. If he just threw them away, the police would have notice if the fridge was empty. Since every Monday the caretaker would come to bring more food, it would be strange if there was food from another store, even more, the stores around that area wouldn’t be open. So he concluded that the best way to deal with it was to cook a full course meal using the food in the fridge. If he fried the food with oil, baking and boiling them, at the first glance no one would know if the food was rotten or not, that’s why he didn’t make the salad. No one would taste the food in the crime scene, and the dead does not eat,” Katsuki ended his explanation.

Yuri was speechless once he followed Katsuki’s explanation. It made sense when he came to think about it.

“Wow! Amazing, Yuuri!” Viktor gushed and pulled his husband in a tight crushing hug that was supposed to be painful, but Katsuki only melted into the hug happily.

“As for proof, well, you can check on the cooking utensils and the fridge in the crime scene. One of them might contain his fingerprints. He was in panicked state, people got sloppy when they panicked. Even Vitya got sloppy when he hadn’t finished his manuscript near the deadline he managed to change the main character’s name with my name,” Katsuki smiled fondly at his husband. “Does it help, Otabek, Detective Plisetsky?” Katsuki asked.

“That really help us, Yuuri. Thank you very much,” Otabek smiled and nodded.

 

* * *

 

 

When they returned to their car, Yuri was still in a daze. “What the hell was that? Who was that guy?” Yuri turned to Otabek in a mix of anger and amazement.

“That was Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov. The husband of a famous mystery novelist,” Otabek said. “Remember the detective in Viktor’s book? The Japanese one? He is based on Yuuri apparently.”

“But what the hell does that guy doing as a househusband?! He should join the police force, with his skill we can solve more cases and helped more people!” Yuri said, feeling pissed that a talented man with deduction skill as Katsuki decided to simply be a househusband and occasional dance teacher.

“I’m not sure. But they look happy, so no one really questioned it,” Otabek shrugged as they drove back to the precinct to get full reports from the crime lab and detained the culprit.

And Detective Yuri Plisetsky was sure, this wouldn’t be the last time he saw Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov, the househusband consulting detective in his out-of-cheesy-magazine house , two poodles, an famous mystery writer novelist husband.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what do you think?


End file.
